Women playing role in addressing climate change impacts despite risks: Environment minister

Despite climate change related risks and vulnerabilities adversely affecting women and thus their even tending to lose lives and livelihood, they are playing an increasing role in addressing climate change impacts in Bangladesh, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin has said.

In Bangladesh, climate change obstructs the country's sustainable food security and makes its population, especially women, vulnerable to health as well as environmental shocks, he said at the High-Level event of the Gender Caucus in the conference of the parties (COP-15) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) held Tuesday (Bangladesh time) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire hosted by the First Lady of Cote d'Ivoire Dominique Ouattara, according to a ministry press release.

“Yet, women play a significant role in reducing and reversing land degradation. Women contribute to restore, protect and improve land in a range of ways,” he added. 

The minister said the 8th five-year plan of Bangladesh undertakes a number of activities which will help to mitigate the severe problem of land degradation in Bangladesh and will support the global agenda of achieving sustainable development goals.

“We are encouraging and welcoming international cooperation and support through the UNCCD secretariat as well as Global Mechanism for improving the conditions of affected people especially for women,” he added.

In the Gender Caucus, the First Lady of Côte dIvoire Dominique Ouattara and the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed launched a new study on the differentiated impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought on men and women.

The study shines a spotlight on the disproportionate impacts women and girls are facing when land is degraded and how, if given the agency, they can be at the forefront of global land restoration efforts.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh is taking effective measures for vulnerable women, the minister added, saying that with its scarce resources, Bangladesh has taken a number of measures for uplifting the conditions of vulnerable women.

Bangladesh has formulated a range of policies, laws and guidelines to ensure gender equality. The government has introduced a gender budget in the national budgeting system, Shahab Uddin added.

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